The Final Frontier
by Domaininactive
Summary: Far away from home and in a galaxy at war, do the men and women of the UNSC Frigate Avalanche remain hidden figures, or decide to help out one of the many factions in a divided galaxy.
1. Lost

**A/N: This is a rewrite of the original two chapters I wrote a while ago. I liked the story idea but not its execution. Therefore I found it to be necessary to be rewritten as the other one was too fast pace for my personal liking. If you have read the original, please let me know if you prefer this new version or the old one.**

Chapter 1

"Lost"

1300 hours February 17, 2554 (Military Calendar)

Sol System, Earth

Commander Terris stood in the command bridge waiting for authorization to make the jump into slip-space. He reviewed the course that they would take to get to the planet of New Haven since this route was entirely new and not logged in the data banks of the UNSC Astro-navigation charts. Terris found that this route would be the fastest in getting them to the planet compared to the traditional route. He was in command of the UNSC Avalanche, a Strident-Class Heavy Frigate. Unlike the previous Paris-Class Frigates, the Strident Class had better armor and it also possessed shields.

"Jeremiah, How much do I have to spend standing around here?" Terris asked.

Jeremiah Materialized in the A.I holo-projection table. He wore an American Army dress uniform from the Second World War. The color the A.I was blue, like the majority of the A.I in service with the UNSC Navy.

"Commander, the station reports that they're almost finished, they just need to log in the course in their records," Jeremiah responded.

Terris let out a large exhale venting his frustration. The station had been reviewing his planned course for three-hours now. The A.I reassured him that the station has to track the movement of every ship that enters and leaves the Sol System. But this did little to comfort the officer. He was grinding his teeth together when Ensign James one of the ships' crew members called him.

"Commander, the station has given us the green light to make the jump sir," Ensign James said.

"About time" Terris retorted. "Proceed to make the Jump Ensign."

"Aye, sir."

Ensign James activated the slip-space drive. A black portal with a blue outline was punched open in front of the ship. The ship entered it This was how they entered the slip-space stream. Now all they had to do was wait as they made their way to New Haven.

[_]

February 19th, 2554

1300 hours

Slip Stream en route to New Haven

Commander Terris was sitting down in his command chair. He was reading one of the many entry logs about New Haven although he really did not want to. Terris tried to force himself to read the log but could not find the enough determination to do so. He finally gave up and powered down his tablet. He set his tablet aside and proceeded to watch as the crew continued doing their jobs. The command bridge was quiet and inactive. _Peace and Tranquility_ Terris thought as he leaned his head back against his the tranquil peace wouldn't last as the ship was violently shaken and the orange emergency lights in the bridge started to go buzz irk. Terris was caught disorientated.

"Jeremiah, what is going on?" Terris demanded.

"I don't know sir, this is very unusual."

The slip-space portal then opened spitting the Avalanche back into normal space. Terris was rocked forward from his chair almost falling on the deck of the command bridge.

"What's going on, why did we exit slip space?" Terris continued.

"Sorry sir, the navigation computer went haywire and forced us to make an exit" James responded.

"Can you get us back on course ensign?"

" Not until reheat the system sir, the engine cores have spun to zero"

"Alright then do it," Terris ordered. James nodded in acknowledgment, he spun back to face the terminal in front of him. Terris took a deep breath and moment to think. Jeremiah caught the attention of the commander when he found him or rather it staring at the commander. "What is it, Jeremiah?" The commander asked the A.I

"Sir, our sensors have detected a large planet approximately a thousand kilometers in front of us". The commander looked out the from the command bridge's frontal view port. Terris examined the planet the best he could from this distance. It had a green-brownish pigmentation to it with large clouds in the atmosphere, the largest of which was the northern most point of the planet. Terris didn't know where North and South lied on this planet so, until he could figure it out, he would have to use Earth's directional sense to make the comparisons.

"Jeremiah, where exactly are we located?" Terris catechized.

"Our astro-navigation computer is unable to pinpoint our exact location sir."

"So you're telling me we're lost?"

"That could be a possibility, sir." Jeremiah ended.

Terris listened to the words of the A.I carefully. He looked down to the gray-metallic deck of the command bridge as he started thinking of the next course of action. The UNSC did have protocol what steps to take if the commanding of the ship should take if they would someone leave the boundaries of the known galaxy. He just thought that such protocol would never be put to use.

"Jeremiah, what information do you have on the planet in front of us?"

"Well the planet does have a breathable atmosphere, and it also has surfaced."

"Well, that does it then. Given the certain circumstances that we have found ourselves, I see no alternative but to activate Naval Protocol 13-bravo until friendly units can come to our rescue. I'll bring the ship down to the atmosphere but before I can that, I need eyes on the ground. Jeremiah, call the lieutenant colonel to the bridge, tell him that I need his assistance. "

[_]

Lt. Colonel Ferrando was in his quarters. He was studying the battle plan that he had made before they had left Earth on the upcoming offensive in New Haven. Ferrando was in the middle of making adjustments the battle plans when the ships onboard A.I Jeremiah materialized himself in his room.

"Sir" The A.I called to Ferrando.

The Colonel took a moment before turning to face the A.I. His face only illuminated by the blue light that his computer monitor was outputting.

"Mr. Jeremiah." He addressed the A.I "I hope you have one hell of a good reason to interrupt me while I'm working"

"It was not my intentions sir to interrupt you in the middle of your work, but the commander instructed me to inform you that he requires your presence in the bridge, he told me to let you know that he requires your assistance."

Ferrando took the A.I's words into consideration. He wondered as to what the commander wanted help in seeing as how it had just been two days since the ship departed from Earth.

"Did he tell you what he needed help in?"

"Sir, I just working with what information the commander has provided me. I'm sorry."

Ferrando took a deep breath in frustration. He turned his head to face his computer monitor thinking if he should take the word of the A.I or just wait until Terris opted to call him directly. He thought for a few moments more before concluding that it be best

"Jeremiah" He started " Tell the commander that I'll be on my way."

"Yes, sir," Jeremiah replied

"But before you go, please tell the commander to summon me. Directly. I don't like to make assumptions."

"I'll make sure he receives your message, sir."

"Thank you" Ferrando finished

Jeremiah gave a slight to the Lt. Colonel before dematerializing

After the A.I had left, Ferrando proceeds to the door. The door automatically slid open revealing a hall way that was void almost any life. He walked out and turned to the left towards the elevator that would take him to one of the upper levels. Where then he could proceed to the bridge. Ferrando never did go to the upper levels of the ships often times he rather remains close to where his troops were. The only times he would be seen in the upper levels of the is when he went to go eat in the mess hall or go to the medical bay. But this was a different situation because now a naval officer had requested his help. He wondered what Terris required help that would necessitate for him to come to the bridge personally. He now was at the entrance of the elevator. He pressed a panel button to call it down to his level. Ferrando waited for two minutes before the elevator reached his level. The doors slid open revealing the elevator to empty.

 _Perfect_ He thought to himself. The entered the carriage where it would take him to the main level of the ship from there he could continue his small journey to the command bridge and hopefully get it over with fast and finish where he had left off.

[_]

Commander Terris was pacing himself around the command bridge. His cadence was slow and calm with his hands on his back. However, this was just a façade as he was extremely nervous. The idea of being lost had haunted the commander since the start of his navy career: and now it was a reality. As commander Terris was about to finish his full turn around the bridge when the elevator door opened. In it was a man in with a long sleeve Khaki dress shirt and tie completed with green trousers.

" Ferrando" Terris started. "I'm Glad you were able to make it."

"Well, I couldn't pass your plea for help" Ferrando added.

He continued to the center holo-table where the commander was standing at one end with the A.I. Ferrando stopped at the opposite end of the table.

"Right. Well, now that you here are I think it's time that Jeremiah briefed you on our...peculiar situation."

"Lay it on me," Ferrando said directing his attention to the A.I"

"As of 1300 hours earth standard time, the Avalanche is lost with all hands." Jeremiah then motions his hand and brings up a planet projected onto the holo- table. "As the avalanche re-entered normal space, we came across the planet you see displayed in front of you."

Ferrando examined the projected planet the best he could. The projection appeared more like a blue sphere with a planet like features crudely drawn on it. "Is it possible that I could get a live feed on the planet?" He asked.

Jeremiah nodded and with a motion of his hand he got rid of the projection of the planet and replaced it with a live footage of the planet. Although it wasn't in a 3d projection anymore, it didn't bother Ferrando. He was only concerned about getting a visualization of the planet. "What information do you have on this planet?"

"That's why we called you here, the only information we possess is what we were able to gather from up here. We don't possess any knowledge of the surface itself. That's why we need you to send a team down to find out exactly what's on the surface."

"Do you plan on bringing the ship down the atmosphere commander?"

"Yes, I require that you send a team down to the surface of the planet as I have decided to activate Naval Protocol 13-Bravo. Jeremiah, please explain to Ferrando what this protocol states."

Jeremiah gave a nod to the commander, he then directed his attention towards Ferrando. "Sir, Protocol 13 Bravo states that In the event of a ship losing communications with all friendly assists, it is to remain stationary and transmit encrypted distress signals on all known UNSC Channels. The ship is to avoid any and all contact with vessels that do not match any UNSC IFF signals for the duration of this protocol being active. The commanding officer of the vessel will do their best to mask any and all signatures until being able to re-establish communications with friendly forces."

"It's a rather short protocol don't you think." Ferrando said in a sarcastic manner.

"Well, it's just a summary of the entire protocol," Jeremiah responded.

"I can send you a copy of the entire protocol if you wish Colonel." Terris interjected

"Perhaps later commander. However, what you could do is forward this information to Captain Edwards with instructions to prepare a team for a drop" Ferrando answered.

"Yes, sir will do." Jeremiah responded.

* * *

 **Any suggestions and criticism is welcomed as it helps me grow as writer and will also help enrich the story**


	2. Strange New World

Chapter 2

"Strange New World"

1340 hours February 17, 2554 (Military Calendar, EST)

Unknown Space

GySgt. Buck was in his quarters along with the rest of Alpha-9. He was sitting on his bunk writing in his journal, the Rookie fast asleep on his bunk, no surprise there: and the rest of the team were gathered around a terminal watching a movie or so, he thought. Alpha-9 had also received a new recruit before leaving Earth. His name was Pvt. Triston Lawrence. Lawrence was a brainiac, his technical skills surpassed even some of the most seasoned veterans aboard the Avalanche. His skills with electronics did not transfer very well when handling a weapon though. Dutch joked that Lawrence was better of throwing his rifle at the enemy given he had a greater chance of hitting something if he did so. In any case, his skill set was more than welcomed; Lawrence would provide the brains, and the rest would provide the muscle. Buck was aware of the fact that if he could utilize Lawrence's abilities correctly, Alpha-9 could be a devastating tool of destruction of greater magnitude than it already was. And he would.

The double-slide doors to their quarters hissed as they opened. At the entrance was a man in his combat BDU but without any armor plating. He had a light skin pigmentation and a buzz cut as per military regulations. On his BDU collar, his ranks laid proudly pinned. Two silver bars on each side interconnected with each other. Denoting the rank of captain

"Captain Edwards" Buck spoke as he gently laid his journal down on his lap. He didn't know much about the captain other than that he also served in the Human-Covenant war; although that was a given. He also knew that the war left the captain with a distaste for the UEG and the UNSC itself. This deployment was to be the captain's last before retiring. By now everyone presented in the room had stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on the captain before them.

"Gunnery Sergeant" Edwards started in his serious-almost monotone voice" I need you and your men to get ready for a drop."

Buck twitched his head back a little, his eyes narrowing with the ensuing confusion from what he just heard. He turned to face Dutch, Romeo, and Mickey who were gathered around the terminal. They too turned to face him and their faces screamed with confusion as well. The room fell early quiet for a brief moment before Romeo broke the silence. "Is this the start of a bad joke captain?" Romeo asked with a slightly nervous chuckle.

"On the contrary" Edwards began "Gather your equipment and come to the briefing room as soon as possible. There, I will tell you all the details of this new mission." The Captain finished. His demeanor was fixed and unchanged throughout the small albeit important exchange of words. ."Alright then Captain, we'll meet you there when we're ready." Buck replied.

"Outstanding. I'll be waiting for you there". Edwards said unenthusiastically. "I'll be leaving you men to your own devices now."

Buck watched as the Captain marched out of their quarters. He let out a small sigh." What the hell could that have been about?" Dutch asked. "I don't know Dutch, but we're about to find out" Buck promptly responded.

"Well, I'm not liking any of this" Mickey started. "Why the hell are we dropping when it hasn't even been three day's since we left Earth?" Mickey had a concerned look on his face, a sentiment shared with all the members of Alpha-9. However, he was the only one that was making it public. Buck intervened trying to prevent the situation to escalating out of proportions. "We have our orders, right now we need to get ready for a drop. We'll have answers to all of our questions in due time. But we won't be getting any by standing around here. Lawrence, wake sleeping beauty up."

Lawrence turned and glared at the Rookie. He was in the center top bunk-bed. His blanket only going as far up to his waist. Pvt. Lawrence began his motion towards the Rookie. He didn't know what the Rookie's reaction would be since Lawrence didn't know him very well, or any of the members of Alpha-9 for that matter. He had only been with the unit for three days now. Not enough time to get to know them.

"We'll be waiting for the two of you in the armory," Buck said as both he and the remainder of Alpha-9 were walking out of the room.

[_]

Buck had already finished putting his armor. Now he was just waiting for the rest of the team to finish. He had already grabbed his MA5C assault rifle and his M6C pistol. Most of the men had finished putting their armor on and where grabbing their respective weapons. Dutch and Mickey both grabbed the M7 silenced SMG. Mickey grabbed the M41 Doubled Barreled rocket launcher, while Dutch grabbed the M6E Spartan Laser. Romeo went for more specialized weapons, he grabbed the SRS-99 Sniper rifle and the M395B DMR. The only two people that had to put their gear on were the Rookie and Lawrence. _Where the hell could they be at?_ Buck thought to himself. The large doors to the armory hissed open. Lawrence and the Rookie entered jogging towards their lockers and putting on their gear as fast as they could. The Rookie took around three-minutes to finish and now just needed to grab his weapon. Lawrence wasn't faring so well as he was having trouble putting his armor on.

"Dutch, Mickey, go help him out" He ordered the duo pointing to Lawrence. They walked towards him and began to assist. This didn't come without a friendly scolding though.

"You think he'll be okay," Romeo asked Buck. Romeo still had some doubts about the abilities of their newest member. Although he welcomed the fact that he was no longer working with an ONI agent. He didn't want to get killed babysitting one of his team members either.

"He may be new, but I'm sure that he'll pull through Romeo" Buck answered

"Well, I hope he does" Romeo finished.

"Have faith in the kid Romeo. He'll get better as time goes." Buck said in an optimistic tone

The Rookie had grabbed his weapon. He too grabbed the M7 SMG. Lawrence finished getting his armor on; thanks to Mickey and Dutch. He too went to go get his weapon. He motioned his hand towards a DMR until Dutch blocked him. "Easy there big guy, here this weapon suits you better" Dutch gave the Private a shotgun. Lawrence wanted to protest but couldn't muster the courage. Instead, he grabbed a dozen slug rounds to take with him.

The team was now combat ready and made their way towards the briefing room. As they entered they saw the room to be empty aside from the captain standing in the middle around the holo-table. The captain had everything ready to present them with. The troopers all stood next to each other at the opposite end of the captain. They carried their helmets under their arms. The Rookie was the only exception as he elected to put his helmet on instead of carrying it like the rest of the group.

"Gentlemen, I'm glad that you could make it." The captain pressed a button on the control panel of the table. The holo-table then projected a three-dimensional rendering of a planet with the UNSC Avalanche holding position just above the northern most point of the planet." As you can see here, the Avalanche ran into this planet after leaving slip-space. In a normal situation, this would be of very little concern for us. However, our current procurement is anything but normal." The captain then pressed another button on the control panel before continuing. "As of 1330 hours earth standard time, the UNSC Avalanche has officially lost communications with the relay station in Arcadia. Gunnery Sergeant." He paused to press a few more buttons on the control panels. A jump course was added to the holo-projection beginning at the ship and ending in the middle part of the planet. "Your mission will be to provide recon for the ship. We need boots on the ground to provide accurate intelligence on what exactly is on the surface."

"What opposition are we expected to be facing?" Buck inquired

"From the little intel that we have gathered; the planet seems to not be housing any sophisticated species: At least compared to our level. You may have some run in with the natives but try to keep contact with any sentient life at a bare minimum."

"And what if we do come across any natives?" Dutch pressed.

"If you come across any, ignore them, if they are hostile, eradicate them, but in only in self-defense. These are your rules of engagement understood."

"Yes sir" replied Alpha-9 unison.

"Very well. Squad, you are dismissed."

Buck led the team out of the briefing and started their way towards the pod hangar. The got the attention of the other marines as they walked along the corridor because they were the only ones with combat gear on as of yet. One could've said that they were going to the shooting range to get some practice except, the range was on the opposite end of this level.

"Gentlemen the clock is ticking and the corps isn't paying us by the hour, man your pods" Buck ordered.

The troopers got in their pods and were now waiting for the ships pod bay-door opened. They waited for about a minute before the pods were spun 360 degrees. The black bay-doors opened replacing the dark view with the planet underneath them. None of them knew what they would see once on the surface. What most of the troopers but specifically Romeo was more concerned about how Lawrence would perform. Unlike the others, Lawrence never saw a real combat deployment. This was to be his first.

"Spectre-1 to alpha-9 come in." The voice of the communications officer sounded through the com channel

"This Alpha-9 we hear you loud and clear Spectre-1" Buck replied.

"Copy your last Alpha-9, for this mission we'll be your point of contact. Make us proud troopers"

"Understood Spectre-1" Buck polarized his helmet and then roared to his squad "Troopers we are green and very, very, mean!" Just as Buck finished saying that, three-loud beeps followed by a prolonged one echoed in their pods. The pods then screamed down towards the planet leaving behind their ship and below awaited them an undiscovered planet. Buck had his eyes fixed on the planet, he watched as they entered the atmosphere of the planet. "Prepare to deploy airbrakes on my mark-Mark". Buck's pods bumped as he deployed his airbrake. By now they were close to hitting the surface.

"Brace for impact" Buck shouted through the com channel.

His pod landed in a clearing that was surrounded by tall grass. The grass was covered prevented him any further than a few feet. Buck grabbed his rifle from the weapons compartment and then proceeded to open the hatch to his pod. He walked in a calm manner aiming down his rifle but stopping shortly afterward because of the lack of any immediate danger. It was night-time on this planet with the full moon providing some light over him. He activated his night vision to get a better layout of the area. Just as he had put his rifle down, a large four-leg creature jumped out of the tall grass and charged at him. Buck saw the beast but was not quick enough to bring his rifle back up. The beast used its bird-like peak to knock Buck down from his feet and pin him against the ground. Buck was grunting as he struggles to avoid the getting bitten in the head by this creature. He tried to grab his bayonet with his right hand while simultaneously dodging the creatures attacks. Buck managed to grab the handlebar of his bayonet and quickly un-sheaved it. Then he swiftly jabbed his bayonet in the creature's eye. The beast got off of him screeching in pain. Buck quickly stood up, un-holstered his pistol, and delivered the finishing blow. Six shots pierces the creature's skull. Buck was out of breath due to the brief encounter. He walked up to his assault rifle and picked it up.

Just as he had finished orienting himself he detected more movement from the vegetation. He raised his rifle with his finger ready to pull the trigger only to realize that it was Dutch and Romeo.

"Easy there gunny, I don't want to die just yet" Said, Romeo.

"Sentiments the same Romeo" Buck retorted

"Looks like gunny got his first confirmed kill" Dutch added.

All three of them turned to face the creature. Buck walked up to it to retrieve his bayonet. Closer inspection revealed that the creature had some bird-like features. Its head was shaped that closely resembled an eagle's head. It had some fur on its upper back and around its neck that resembled feathers and sharp three-toed claws.

"What the hell is that gunny?" Romeo inquired

"All I know is that the son of a bitch tried to kill me," Buck replied

"Fair enough I guess"

"There's probably more of them close by, we must be ready," Dutch stated

"Come on you two, there still three troopers out there close by, let's go find them. I'll take point"

"Aye Gunny" Both Dutch and Romeo replied in unison

Buck took one last look at the beast before leading Dutch and Romeo through the thick grass to find the rest of the squad. The teamed moved steadily and quietly as best they could not trying to draw attention to them. The thick blades of the grass however made almost impossible to see even a few meters in front of them and it wasn't helping that it.

The team finally reached got out of the grass and into a dirt path. Buck took a knee and examined the imprints on the path. He tried to see if there were any marking that could give a hint as to the location of the rest of the team. But there was nothing. He got up and looked around to see if there was any indication. _Something, anything_ he thought to himself until, he saw a large tree of in the not far off in the distance.

"There." He pointed toward the tree. Both Dutch and Romeo looked in the direction Buck was pointing in. "We can get a better vantage point from there." Dutch and Romeo nodded in agreement and quickly darted towards the tree following foot path.

[_]

Lawrence was making his way through the thick blades of grass that surrounded him. His pod landed right in the middle of the grass field. His was split up from the rest of the team when he hit the airbrakes to slow his drop. The thick blades of grass seemed to never end and Lawrence felt that he was walking in circles. He knelt down and open his com channel, "Hello, is anyone out there" Lawrence whispered through the radio. He didn't know why he was whispering but if felt kind of appropriate since it was night time though his internal clock read 1424 hours. He waited patiently for someone to respond until it came.

"Hello, New guy is that you, where are you at? I have the Rookie with me here, but the others seem to be missing." Mickey said over the channel.

"I couldn't tell you since I'm surrounded by fucking grass." He responded.

"I see a large tree in the distance, The Rookie and I will make our way there." Mickey responded

"Copy on your last, I'll keep my ey…" Lawrence was interrupted by movement in the brush. He frantically started aiming his shotgun in every direction. The movement was growing closer and closer and it appeared to be coming in every direction. "Who's there!" Lawrence called out as he cocked his shotgun. But there was no response. The movement just kept closer and closer to his position and he couldn't take anymore. He started to sprint trying to get away from whatever was stalking him. He didn't care in what direction he ran; Fear was in control. Lawrence ran until his legs could no longer support him. He eventually stopped in a clearing, placing his hands in his knees and breathing in heavily. He removed his helmet to get some fresh air. "Hope I never have to do that again" he said as he kept breathing until something caught the attention of the trooper. He didn't notice it before but now he could see it clearly. In front of him lied a ship, crashed from the looks of it. It had a red and white paint scheme to it with three large cylindrical engines in the rear. Lawrence put his helmet back on and began to make his way towards the mysterious ship. He looked for an opening until he found one in the midsection and opened from the looks of it. Carefully, Lawrence made his way into the interior of the vessel. It was pitch black inside forcing him to turn the flashlight on his weapon on. The trooper made his way, carefully through the interior checking every room and thoroughly. He did not want any surprises.

After slowly maneuvering himself through the ship, he finally reached the command bridge, or what was left of it anyway. He inspect the room until he saw a figure laying against one of the consoles. This creature was humanoid from the looks of it, wearing white-burned marked armor with yellow stripes on its helmet and arms. Its helmet also had two red roundels and a black a T-like visor. Lawrence dropped to his knee to get an up close look of this thing. He set his shotgun on the deck of the ship and grabbed the creature's helmet. _I wonder what it'll look like_ He thought while removing its helmet. The trooper grew pale when he finished unmasking this figure. He expected to be surprised but not like this. Lawrence was staring at a skull, a skull of a human being.

* * *

 **Any suggestions and criticism is welcomed as it helps me grow as writer and enrich the story.**


	3. The Droid

**A/N: Greetings fellow reader, if you have read the previous iteration of this story that was called the "Raider and the Alpha," I would suggest that you skim or re-read the first two chapter to understand chapter 3. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but I felt a rewrite was necessary. Feel free to voice your criticism or suggestions in the review section.**

Chapter 3

"The Droid"

1410 hours February 17, 2554(Military Calendar)

Unknown planet

Lawrence stared at the corpse he'd found with a profound shock. The armor, the ship, and the writing were nothing like he had ever seen before. This decomposed body was a human being. There was no doubt about it. The question is, how did it get here? That was something that Lawrence wanted to find out.

With his combat knife in hand, he began to remove the panels on the computers that were on the bridge in his quest for answers. He was looking for the memory banks of these computers, but so far the ones he had only found were damaged due to the fire that had raged in the interior of the ship. Lawrence came to the last console in the bridge, he inserted his knife in the panel's crevice and pried it open. "Bingo," Lawrence said out loud to himself as he had found something that remotely resembled a data bank in near perfect condition.

He took his backpack off to retrieve the tablet that he carried with him. Lawrence planned to hook his tablet to the recovered hard drive but soon found it that none of his SATA cables matched the plug for this memory disk. "I'll have to take this back to the Avalanche with me." He concluded.

As he put the memory disk in his backpack, a familiar voice called out from the com channel.

"Lawrence are you out there? Respond." The voice belongs to no other than GySgt. Buck.

"Gunnery Sergeant, where are you, I couldn't find any of you guys out there," Lawrence replied.

"Right now we're on a tree trying to find the rest of the team. But where are you private?" Buck inquired.

"Right now I'm in the remains of a ship of unknown classification. I think I can find out where we are if I keep searching it."

"Well try to find as much as you can. I'll see if we can spot a downed ship from up here." Buck said.

"Well do Gunny." Lawrence finished.

Lawrence walked up to his shotgun that was still on the ground on next to the body. Negligence on his part, but the thrill to solve this mystery overtook him, and he had forgotten about picking up his weapon.

The trooper once armed began to renew his search throughout the ship. Every step he took gave out a _chunk_ sound due to all of the charred debris that was on the ground. He first stumbled upon a room that was just a complete mess. The ceiling had sunk down, and there were various pieces of furniture scattered all over the place. From what he could deduce, this room had to at one time been an infirmary.

He continued his investigation, searching every room even the ones that he had been to when he initially entered. Searching for more pieces of information that could help him. However, his entire search was futile. Everything that he came across was damaged beyond of any use. That was until he stumbled upon a room that was sealed at the end of the corridor. The door was sealed, and since there was no power, the only way to get inside was to force this door open. Lawrence grabbed his knife and pushed it into the doors crevice. He carefully tilted left and right to not bend his knife. After making a clearing big enough to fit his fingers through, he started using his hands to pry it open.

Lawrence made an opening just big enough where he could fit through. He carefully inspected the room he had entered. To his surprise, this room appeared to be in pristine condition despite the fact that an inferno consumed the rest of the vessel. He continued to look until he saw something in the corner of the room. At first, he thought that it was just a box, but the more he looked at it, the more of its details became apparent. This box had two short stubby legs, some buttons, and gauges. The box appeared to have been knocked over since it was laying on its side. Lawrence approached this "box" picking it up and standing it on its two legs. The box was heavier than he had expected. Lawrence knelt down to take a closer inspection on the button panel. Not knowing what to do, he pressed one of the buttons at random. With a stroke of sheer luck, the box began to power up making it evident that this, after all, was not a container, but a droid of some sorts. Lawrence just watched as the droid powered up with some curiosity. After the droid finished powering up, it let out an audible "Gonk."

"Howdy their friend." Lawrence started "Can you understand me?"

"Gonk" was all Lawrence received.

"Ah I see, can you tell me what happened here?"

"Gonk."

"I reckon that must be the only thing you can say," Lawrence said letting his southern accent slip. "Well I must get going, it was nice meeting you Gonk," Lawrence said sarcastically.

Lawrence started to make his way out of the room. Disappointed in the fact that he wasn't able to find anything else besides the memory disk (To which he had no clue that it was a memory disk, to begin with) and the corpse in the bridge. The trooper started to head towards the entrance that he came in from and only to hear another set of steps behind him. He quickly turned around aiming down the sights of his shotgun only to realize that the droid was following him.

"Gonk." Was all the droid had said.

"As much as I would _love_ to have your company, you cannot come with me. Stay here; I'm sure your owner will come for you eventually." Lawrence said.

He began to continue walking only to realize that the droid was still following him. He reached the entrance and was about to make his exit only to stop to confront the droid one more time.

"Listen I already told you once. You cannot come with me ok, just stay here buddy." But the Droid still did not listen and just kept following him

"Alright fine, I guess you can tag along."

Lawrence scanned the surrounding before leaving the crashed ship. He made a mental note to himself to bring the team back here and retrieve. With the company of his new found friend next to him, he set out to find his squad.

[_]

UNSC Avalanche

In atmosphere

"Sir, the Avalanche has entered the atmosphere of the planet." Ensign James said.

"And not a moment too soon, Radar is picking up a new contact in the orbit of the planet," Jeremiah stated.

"Friendly's?" Terris inquired.

"Negative," The A.I said.

"Prepare archer missile pods one through three in case of possible hostile contact." Terris ordered.

 **Elsewhere…**

The young Twi'lek was sitting on a crate next to the Nu-class transport that would take her to her first mission. She imagined what it would be like but tried not to get her hopes up. Besides she was part of the medical corps, the only action she would see was an injured Jedi or Clone, but not in "Backwater" planet as she called it.

"Are you ready?" A female voice called to her. It was Jedi Master Ursula and to her left stood her Padawan Orsan. Ursula was also accompanied by a clone trooper whose name she still did not know.

"Yes, master," The Twi'lek said to the Jedi.

"Well board the ship we don't have time to spare!" The Jedi Master ordered in a harsh tone.

The Twi'lek just nodded at the Jedi master and proceeded to enter the shuttle. She sat in the far end hoping not to interact with the Master. She wasn't very fond of the Jedi Master or her Padawan. In fact, she disliked them both. But there wasn't anything she could.

The ship lifted off from the ground and made its way out of the hangar. Its course set to the Rolion sector.


End file.
